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@eine rafts-Jaim frire THOMAS P. sINH, o-F PAIHTON, NEW JERSEY; AssIeNoETo HIMSELE AND J. E. EEENGHAHD. 0E PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

Letters Patent No. 74,857. dated February 25, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT` IN oYsTEE-DEEDGING MACHINERY..

T o ALL W-HoM IT MAY ooIvcEEN:l

Be it known that I, THOMAS P; SINK, of Fairton, Cumberland county, New, Jersey, have invented certain Improvements in OystereDredging Machinery; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and

exact description ofthe same, reference being had t0 the accompanying drawing, and to the letters of reference i marked thereon. .Y

My invention consists of certain mechanism constructed and applied, to a. vessel, in a `manner described hereafter, for the purpose of facilitating the dredging for and boardingy of'oysters.

yIn order to enable ,others to make and use my iuventiomI will now proceed to describe its .construction andoperatiou. On reference to the accompanying drawing, which forms a. part 'of-this specication-e- Figures' 1 and 2 are. side views of my improved'oyster-dredging apparatus.

Figure 3, a plan view.

Figure 4ta 'view of the dredger; and

Figure 5, a modication of the apparatus.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views. A is the vessel.to theV deck of which is secured a suitable windlass, BT theirope D, from..the. barreLof. thelatter, being secured tothe dredger E, which consists of four rods, a a andai 0l',`meeting at the -point b, where an eye is formed for thc attachment '-f the rope. The rods a a are bent, as shown in figs. 1 and V2, the bent ends being secured to the outer ends ofthe rods cl and d, arid at the point vvhere the bent and straight rods are fastened together is secured a plate, e, from which project a number of teeth, f. To the framefthe dredger, thus constructed, is secured a bag, h, consisting of a number of met'alrrings linked together. IOn the deck, near that side ofthe vessel from which the operation of dredging is conducted, are two rollers, Fand G, the journals of which turn in frames, H, secured tothe gunwalc or deck of the vessel, the rollers being 'arranged in respect to each other as shown in iig-s. 1 and 2,' I v i y .Aftcrgthe dredger hasbeen lowered over theside of the vessel, and drawn along the bed of the riverol creek, so that, by the aid ofthe teeth f, a supply of oysters is collected in the bag-h, the operators proceed to turn the Windlass, and thereby hoist the dredger Jup the side of the vessel, the ropepassing over the rollers F and G. As the dredger approaches the deck, its rodsd d come in contact with the roller F, which prevents the teeth from-catching against the side ofthe vessel, and thedredger is gradually drawn inwards until its rods d d resten the roller G, as shown ,in iig. 2, and after-being drawna short distance over this roller, the dredger will, of itself, he tilted to the position shown in red lines, iig. 2, and its contents` may then be readily emptied on to the deck.

A roller, situated at the side of the vessel, has been heretofore used for facilitating the letting'out and hauling in of Ythe dredger, on each side of which a projecting har tras arranged `for resting on Atheioller, and

preventing the tecthfrom catching the vessel or roller. These ribs have been found objectionable, as in passing over the oysterbeds they n'oundcd the oysters and rendered them unt for the market. Moreover, when a single roller is employed, the teeth of the dredge, before the latterV is suciently drawn in to be discharged, catch upon the said roller, and the dredge with its entire contents must be raised. By constructing the rlredgetl in the peculiar manner described, and by the employment ot' the tivo rollers F and G, this diiculty is lobviated, the rlrcdger having no tendency to injure the oysters, and the rollers facilitating the hauling of thel dredger,

over the sido of and tilting it above the deck of the vessel, as the second roller serves as a rest on which to turn the dredge and lift it froml the first, and as the second roller is so much higher than the first, and so mu'ch" further from the side oll the vessel, that when the teeth of the dredge catch upon .the same,' it may be readilyturned to the posit-ion shown in red lines, iig. 2, and be discharged without being further drawn in.

In the modificatie-n illustrated in iig. 5, a bar, W, situated between the two rollers, is hinged to a. strip, rn, on the decker. gunwale of a. vessel. This bar, as the dredger is being hauled in, rests against the roller F, but after the teeth o f the dredgcr `have passed .the said roller F, they bear Von the bar W, and, catching against a projection on the same, drow it towards the roller G, the hinged bar thus serving to guide or lift the teeth across the space betweenthe two rollers.

I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The'two rollers F and Gr, arranged on the deel: or gunwale o f the ves'sel, for the boarding and tilting of -the dredger, silbstantially a-sdescribed. t v v i 2. The combination, described, of the rollers F and G with the hinged bar W. A

In testimony whereof, lf have signed my name to this specificationin the presence of' two subscribing`wtnosses.

' v THOMAS P. SNK. Witnesses:

,0. B. Peron, JOHN WHITE. 

